Joint Force Quarterly

Articles from Spring

The Joint Center for Lessons Learned (JCLL), which serves as the DOD executive agent for the joint lessons learned program (JLLP), enables the resolution of joint issues and shares knowledge on a range of joint matters. Through this process observations...

Australian defense planners confront the painful reality that while strategic environments may change quickly, military force structures cannot. They face what former Defence Minister John Moore described as a "sea of instability," stemming from an...

In the last issue of Joint Force Quarterly, I outlined my three top priorities as Chairman--winning the global war on terrorism, improving joint warfighting capabilities, and transforming the Armed Forces. In this issue, I want to discuss in more detail...

The United States is at war with an insidious and determined enemy, but not everyone is prepared for the fight. This enemy will avoid conventional battle at all costs, wears no uniform, and is unlikely to negotiate terms at a table. The personal commitment...

Increasing challenges are raising the operations tempo for military organizations and for personnel deployment, complicating training and education. An important aspect of readiness is the ability to plan and execute new missions amidst the turmoil....

The revolution in military affairs (RMA) is not a European concept but American, generated shortly after the Cold War. Moreover, it was the Soviets and not the Europeans who introduced the term military-technical revolution in the early 1980s. This...

To the Editor--In "Reassessing Joint Experimentation" (JFQ, Spring/Summer 01-02), Thomas Cooke gets to the heart of the problem with future experimentation. The problem is hampered by the debate between those who want to take us into the unknown and...

Joint Pub 3-0, Doctrine for Joint Operations, is the keystone volume in the joint operations series. It "provides guidance to joint force commanders and their subordinates for the direction, planning, execution, and support of campaigns and operations--in...

VITA Born in Catskill, New York; graduated from Lafayette College (1924); served with 26th Infantry at Plattsburg Barracks (1924-28); served with 35th Infantry, Hawaii (1928-31); graduated from Infantry School at Fort Benning (1932); served with...

To the Editor--Frederick Kagan has written another excellent synthesis of history and derived wisdom. His "Strategy and Force Structure in an Interwar Period" (JFQ, Spring/Summer 01) is both well supported and direct in its advice. There is, however,...

Allied Force, the most intense and sustained military operation in Europe since World War II, represented the first extended use of force by NATO as well as the first major combat operation conducted for humanitarian objectives against a state committing...

The widespread belief that transformation involves uniform change and is driven towards a common goal reflects a misunderstanding of transformation and innovation. Moreover, to point at a date when transformation of a force will be complete is to miss...

Deception is as old as warfare. It can magnify strength for both attackers and defenders. It is among the least expensive military activities in terms of forces and assets. Yet for all its proven value, it generates little enthusiasm in the U.S. military....

Many historians, analysts, and policymakers believe that war plans conceived in peacetime lead to war, despite the wishes of civilian leaders. This is the "Guns of August" school of thought which is prompted by the role of war plans in precipitating...

The United States expends great effort to account for members of the Armed Forces who were lost while serving the Nation. Over the years no other country has done as much. The Department of Defense is responsible for personnel recovery and accounting....

To the Editor--I read "Special Operations Forces after Kosovo" by Charles J. Dunlap, Jr. (JFQ, Spring/Summer 01-02) with great interest. Against the background of Kosovo and Afghanistan, the cooperation between Special Operations Forces and the Air...

In August, 2001, Paul Wolfowitz, the Deputy Secretary of Defense, said the Pentagon engaged in "a very significant paradigm shift" in the 2001 Quadrennial Defense Review. (1) As he later explained, "We are trying to move from a threat-based strategy...

Transforming Kosovo is a multifaceted challenge requiring a comprehensive and incremental response. Political, security, legal, and economic issues must be addressed as a coordinated whole to ensure a durable peace. Thus the military contribution must...

The Republic of Korea (ROK) has embarked on a journey that could transform its military in the next ten to twenty years. As a key U.S. ally, its force structure, along with underlying assumptions and doctrine, will have great impact on alliance maintenance,...

To the Editor--"A New Twist in Unconventional War: Undermining Airpower" by Gary Webb (JFQ, Spring/Summer 01) does a service by defining a mode of warfare that is very real but not widely recognized in the arena of air superiority. Recognition of the...